Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat-Chapter 49 - 46 A Black Sheep
Chapter 49: Chapter 46 A Black Sheep
Chapter 49 -46 A Black Sheep
Deng Tao didn’t go home after leaving school. She made a phone call to her father at the school gate and then entered a beverage shop.
A set of papers was placed in front of her, but Deng Tao held her pen and couldn’t write a single word for a long time.
She hadn’t expected the matter to become so serious. She thought that as long as her painting was shortlisted, even if Teacher Fang had suspicions about her, without evidence, she wouldn’t do anything to her.
But she underestimated Teacher Fang’s regard for Song Jiawen, and never imagined that, even though she went around to the small grove behind the cafeteria, where few people went, she would still be discovered.
Damn it!
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That freak… Are you secretly in love with me? It’s obviously you sabotaging me!
Now, Deng Tao’s hatred for that boy was comparable to her disdain for Song Jiawen.
Xiaosi…
Song Jiawen, she is the new disciple recently taken by Song Qingping.
Deng Tao found the cursive characters “Xiaosi” in the lower right corner of that competition painting, the handwriting and strokes identical to the signature on the bee and peony picture in Shanshui Gallery.
The moment she saw it, jealousy started to grow at the bottom of her heart.
She was already out of the running for the traditional Chinese painting competition in Beijing, resulting in a missed opportunity with Beijing University. Now, in the painting competition in the provincial capital, she was also being overshadowed by Song Jiawen. Why?
Deng Tao found it hard to breathe, feeling that her smooth sailing life was disrupted, all because of Song Jiawen.
Ever since she came to Experimental Middle School, first her title as the school beauty was taken away, then she made mistakes in the monthly exams, followed by Song Qingping refusing to recommend her, and finally, even in the provincial painting competition, Teacher Fang valued Song Jiawen more.
Deng Tao was not convinced.
However, she also realized that whether she accepted it or not, it no longer mattered, as the development of the situation had already spiraled out of her control. To avoid being punished by the school or, to put it another way, to avoid a blow to her reputation, her father needed to act before the school made a decision and persuade the principal to cancel any punishment against her.
Dad Deng arrived exceptionally quickly. For his only beloved daughter, he was always obliging, so he immediately dropped everything and drove to the school in less than half an hour.
The beverage shop was busy with people coming and going; it wasn’t a good place to talk, so Deng Tao followed her father into the car and then briefly explained the situation to him.
“She paints better than you?”
After hearing the story, Dad Deng didn’t consider it very serious; he was just surprised that there could be someone who painted better than his daughter.
Deng Tao didn’t respond directly to her father’s question, just vaguely muttered, “Something like that.”
She didn’t mention that Song Jiawen was Song Qingping’s disciple either. She only mentioned that there was a previous conflict with her, so she played a little trick when the teacher was mailing the paintings and took her painting and tore it up.
But the art teacher wouldn’t let it go and insisted on bringing the matter to the principal, demanding the school to punish her.
Dad Deng frowned, “Your painting was shortlisted, yet Teacher Fang is pushing you out? She doesn’t want to participate in this painting competition anymore?”
Businessmen pursue profits and judge others by themselves. Dad Deng believed that Teacher Fang should seize the opportunity with his daughter, who was shortlisted, to secure a spot in the painting competition and enhance her own and Experimental Middle School’s reputation.
Rather than clinging to that Song Jiawen who didn’t get to participate in the competition, as if she would have been shortlisted or even won a prize had she participated.
That’s ridiculous!
“Dad, now is not the time to discuss this. Think of something, isn’t the vice principal your classmate? Get him to help put some pressure on Teacher Fang and suppress this issue.”
After speaking, she pouted in grievance, “I don’t want to be announced to the whole school because of some bumpkin…”
She was overthinking it. How could such behavior be simply announced to the whole school? It would lead directly to expulsion.
And Teacher Fang at that time had already recited the school rules and disciplines three times in front of the principal, with only one goal, to expel Deng Tao!
She wasn’t doing this just to vent her anger, indeed, there was a rule in the school regulations: Anyone who steals office property and causes significant loss to the school will be expelled!
Deng Tao stole Song Jiawen’s painting from her, preventing Song Jiawen from participating in the provincial drawing competition and causing Jianghai Middle School to miss an opportunity for awards and fame. If this doesn’t count as a significant loss, what does?
The principal was aware of who Deng Tao was. He was contemplating whether expulsion was too severe a punishment, as the college entrance examination was only three months away. Although expulsion wouldn’t prevent her from taking the college entrance examination, it would definitely have an impact.
Besides, Deng Tao’s grades were not bad, and he was somewhat reluctant to let her go.
The principal spoke cautiously, “Teacher Fang, what if we have Deng Tao publicly apologize to Student Song Jiawen and then announce it to the whole school? Do you think this would be acceptable?”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to agree to the expulsion, but in recent years, the school’s undergraduate admission rate had been low. They had been constantly outperformed by Experimental Middle School, so the principal was reluctant to let go of any student who could be admitted to an undergraduate program.
Director Zhai was responsible for the school’s spirit and discipline. Song Jiawen was not only his little fellow townsman, but he had also made every effort to bring her over from Jianghai Middle School. Her performance in this month’s exam had exceeded all the teachers’ expectations.
Just last week, he had been discussing Song Jiawen with the principal and vice principal, glad that they had poached her for Jianghai Middle School, thinking that if Experimental Middle School had known, they would surely have suffered a more devastating defeat this year than ever before.
Little did he know, just a few days after this conversation, a student of their own school had dared to openly bully the new girl.
Director Zhai was very angry.
He and Teacher Fang shared the same opinion, “Principal, a student’s academic performance is indeed important, but so is moral integrity. If this were a minor error, an apology would suffice, but theft is in itself a serious misconduct, especially since it occurred in a teacher’s office. Fortunately, Song Jiawen is not an art student, but what if she were? Then wouldn’t Deng Tao have completely ruined her future prospects?”
After all, Beicheng University was involved in organizing the competition, and the finalists could apply directly to Beicheng University.
Thus, Director Zhai’s statements were entirely based on facts, without any exaggeration.
However, at the moment the principal voiced his opposition, Teacher Fang had already felt disheartened. In her hand, she still held the half of Song Jiawen’s painting, incomplete and even blurry in some places.
It had been such a perfect painting. She could imagine the way people from the Beicheng Art Association would have been just as astounded as she was upon seeing it for the first time.
But now, it was all gone…
With her eyes downcast, Teacher Fang dully stared at the half-painting in her hand, feeling utterly dejected.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door of the principal’s office. Following the principal’s call to “come in,” the vice principal pushed open the door.
“Principal, I’ve roughly understood the matter concerning Student Deng Tao…”
Teacher Fang snapped out of her reverie and looked up at the vice principal, her eyes so cold they could freeze over.
The vice principal stumbled over his words momentarily, then forced a laugh and said sheepishly, “Teacher Fang, I can understand your appreciation of talent, but now that things have come to this, shouldn’t we accept reality and find a solution that is more beneficial and appropriate for the school?”
“More beneficial and appropriate?” Teacher Fang sneered. “Vice Principal Wang, what exactly is the more beneficial and appropriate solution? To protect a troublemaker like Deng Tao, allowing her to have another chance to harm even more students?”
